When you teach your girlfriend...

mugensi

Well-Known Member
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SOOO the other day I decided to help my girlfriend spruce up on her manual skills. She started out pretty good as we drove around the parking lot and really started to get a feel for my car. WELL I decided that it was time she went out onto the main road and really practice. As we started to go up a slight incline she shifted into 3rd gear because the speed limit was 35. Well at the end of this slight hill is a stop sign. She put it into neutral and came to the stop. Well instead of putting it in first gear she put it into 3rd and tried to take off. She brought the RPMS up to 5600 and the car was barely moving. I told her to quick get out of 3rd and put it into neutral. She was in 3rd gear trying to make it move for maybe 7 seconds tops. After this happened a bad odor was coming from the vehicle. I made her switch back to the passenger seat and I did a quick run through of the gears. The car drove fine but the smell lingered for a little while and the clutch was a little mushy. What possible damage could have been done? If any at all. Just a little burning of the clutch? :banghead:
 
Just a one time thing thing like that, it'll be fine. Just maybe teach her on a flat road lol
 
If it feels ok now, and there doesn't seem to be anything different in the way it shifts, than you should be alright.
As far as long term damage that would be like trying to tell the difference between the life span of someone that smokes vs's
If they never smoked.
There's no reason to fix something that may not need fixing, if it needs fixing it will tell you.... Could be 20,000 or 200,000 miles.
Abuse isn't covered by warr' by the way, and they can see the clutch plates.
One thing you can do, is with out abusing it, briefly drag the clutch to see if it's not warped, when you drag the clutch it should feel constant, kind of the same as testing the frt brake rotor for warping.
 
That's just .... SAAAD ! YEP.... learn on rentals..........
 
After watching @the insider 's video, I'm surprised at how inapt the instructors were as far as not being able to teach these ppl how to control the clutch, no wonder they suck............
 
That's just .... SAAAD ! YEP.... learn on rentals..........

Now you know what a heated clutch smells like....... next time get a rental car to teach her with........

You said learn on a rental twice... Do they make rentals in manuals anymore? At least around here they don't since quite a bit of people can't drive manuals so it's a waste.

99.9% of the rental vehicles are going to be automatic. If you look on the rental companies website you can't even choose manual transmission.
 
You said learn on a rental twice... Do they make rentals in manuals anymore? At least around here they don't since quite a bit of people can't drive manuals so it's a waste.

99.9% of the rental vehicles are going to be automatic. If you look on the rental companies website you can't even choose manual transmission.

After watching that video, I can see why the rental co.'s don't have any........ last time I rented was a U-Haul truck back in the 70's, that was straight.
Well if someone wants to learn, then take a class from a driving school that has them.
 
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That video is painful to watch. I'd hate to see that guy drive stick on public roads.
 
I like the two dudes from Zimbabwe. His friend is like "man what are you doing!?!?!"

I'm sure the guy doesn't see what's wrong at all. He's always driven like that and it's no problem!
 
After watching that video, I can see why the rental co.'s don't have any........ last time I rented was a U-Haul truck back in the 70's, that was straight.
Well if someone wants to learn, then take a class from a driving school that has them.

I didn't watch the video yet.

All driving schools around here have automatics due to the cost of fixing the manuals.
 
I didn't watch the video yet.

All driving schools around here have automatics due to the cost of fixing the manuals.

Sounds like "Catch 22" (old movie)..... Can't learn to drive a ST because no one will give theirs up to the abuse.
I don't even like ppl that "KNOW ?" how to use one drive mine........
Back in the early 60's I bought a Ducati 250cc and burned the clutch out in 2-3 days, because I would be starting off or riding in the wrong gear(didn't know what sequential gears were or how they worked....I do now... I've even given instruction on how to use it without clunking them).

Point is, I had to buy my own to learn.
 
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